Spirit Guides and Lily Pads

When I started this painting, I originally was going for something very subtle, maybe even a single color. But, the painting had other plans and I decided to just listen and go where it took me. Sometimes, I feel that is part of my work as a painter… listening and letting the Muse whisper in my ear along the way. The key is listening and allowing.

Over time, though my original influence was Mark Rothko’s vibrational color fields, I’ve also become enchanted with Monet and never realized the influence his work may have on me until I saw his water lilies in person, after creating this piece, actually. I recognized myself in the unstructured markings, shapes, colors, and nods to nature. I love how artists may not even realize the little pieces we carry with us from different inspirations and muses over time.

The name of this piece comes from the way I let what felt like spirit guides take me where this piece wanted to go + the original inspiration of lily pads on a pond.